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Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else??
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 2005-04-01 2:09 PM |
Member 42  Boston, MA |  Subject: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else??Hello, new member here. I did my first try last sept, sprint distance. Im doing a quarter ironman in june. My training is minimal and from the looks of things here most of you are far more dedicated than i. I am not a great swimmer and on Wed I jumped in the pool for the first time in about 6months. I was working on my freestyle and tring to teach myself how to breath out of my left side. Anyways, this stroke is killing my left shoulder. Ive had numerouse shoulder injuries in the past from years of wrestling. I switched over to the breaststroke for the rest of my workout and felt zero pain. Ive done a little research and how found some tips on how to really streamline this stroke. I think most of what i was reading is by the Terry guy who writes the books on triatholon swimming. great book by the way, it was helpfull to me. I know the stroke is slower that the freestylr but to be honest with you it is pretty close to the same speed as my freestyle. About 28-30secs per 25meters. My freestyle is pretty much the same. So to me, i dont think it matters what stroke i use. And i mine as well focus on the one that doesnt hurt. damn, dont know why i wrote all that. Anyone else have a similar situation, past or present. would like to hear some insight. thanks |
| 2005-04-01 4:21 PM in reply to: #136825 |
| Member 42 Boston, MA | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? Come on now. Nobody out there has any input? I know some of you do the breaststoke as a rest stroke when you race. You think you could do it the whole way easily without losing to much time? Is it real slow stroke for you? You think i should try to tough the freestyle out even though in grinds the heck out of my shoulder? |
| 2005-04-01 4:24 PM in reply to: #136942 |
Expert 948  Mount Vernon, Iowa | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? Sorry, you convinced me. Go with breaststroke. |
| 2005-04-01 4:31 PM in reply to: #136825 |
Pro 4206 Los Angeles, CA | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? In my first tri, I resulted to a combination of freestyle, breast stroke, elementary back stroke, and doggie paddle. Though I practiced for 2 months of freestyle and could do the distance in the pool, I could not do it in the ocean. This was either for lack of practice in the ocean or that the temp was just too cold and I was not used to it. We've had several threads on which stroke to use and why, but the overwhelming majority here will go with freestyle. It is just faster and more streamline. Nevertheless, it doesn't mean you cannot switch strokes to rest your muscles or whatever the case may be. |
| 2005-04-01 4:33 PM in reply to: #136825 |
Expert 717 Utah | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? I swim breaststroke too, because I haven't gotten around to learning an efficient freestyle. I am sure my breaststroke times are slower than my freestyle, but the trade off is not worrying about breathing and not as worn out at the end of the swim. My caution would be to be careful using it in an open water swim in a tri. It is a legal stroke in tris, but has the potential to affect other swimmers. If you run a search on threads in the past month or so, you will find an intense discussion about breaststroke in the open water swim portion of the tri.
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| 2005-04-01 4:53 PM in reply to: #136825 |
| Member 42 Boston, MA | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? Interesting. Is there a higher chanch of kicking someone in the head with the breaststoke? Maybe ill just hang out to the side and do my own thing. Ill look for that thread. |
| 2005-04-02 7:40 AM in reply to: #136825 |
| New user 41 Philadelphia, Pa | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? I experience the same type of problem, left shoulder pain with swimming freestyle. It has gotten to the point in the past that I am unable to lift my arm above shoulder height. I was able to get some advice from a swim couch which really seemed to help the shoulder. In my first tri, I switched to a side stroke when my shoulder needed a rest. You may want to see if someone that knows how to swim can watch you from the deck. They may be able to make some changes to your stroke that will decrease some of the forces on the painful area of the shoulder. Hope that helps some. |
| 2005-04-02 8:22 AM in reply to: #136825 |
Master 2233 Mechanicsburg, PA | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? Torn rotator cuffs here. I did my first tri entirely breaststroke and did tolerably well. 13 minutes and change for about 700 yards. I couldn't swim more than 50 yards freestyle before my shoulders felt like they had caught fire. I've been doing lots of strength training over the past year and have gotten to the point where 1000+ yards of freestyle no longer hurts, but since I'm sooo bad at it, my breaststroke is still a lot faster (always has been). I'll continue to use freestyle this year and switch to breast stroke if I get lost and need to sight rather than tread water and stop moving. If you swim a proper breaststroke (i.e. streamlined and non-spastic) your legs aren't going to be going all over the place. It's a legal stroke and if some people don't like it, then too bad for them. Let them use their USAT membership clout and change the rules. Get through the swim course however you can and have fun. Best of luck. -Frank Edited by scuba-punk 2005-04-02 8:23 AM |
| 2005-04-02 10:49 AM in reply to: #136960 |
Veteran 117 | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? tom39 - 2005-04-01 4:53 PM Is there a higher chanch of kicking someone in the head with the breaststoke? Maybe ill just hang out to the side and do my own thing. MUCH higher chance, & w/ much greater force than w/ flutter kick. No warning for the victim, either. If you're approaching someone's feet from the back, you make first contact w/ your hands. No big deal. With the breaststroke, a foot comes in from the side and you get kicked in the eye or temple or nose w/o any forewarning. Go for it, just be considerate. Hanging a little to the back and to the side is a good plan. Be especially careful around the turns, where traffic tends to bunch up. |
| 2005-04-02 12:23 PM in reply to: #136825 |
Expert 852 Evergreen, Colorado Bronze member | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? One thing no one has mentioned is that the breastroke uses a lot omore leg muscle than freestyle, and can tire your legs our before you even get to the bike or run. Most triathletes that use freestyle barely kick to save their legs for the bike/run - you can't do this with breaststroke. |
| 2005-04-02 12:23 PM in reply to: #136960 |
Pro 4206 Los Angeles, CA | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp... tom39 - 2005-04-01 1:53 PM Interesting. Is there a higher chanch of kicking someone in the head with the breaststoke? Maybe ill just hang out to the side and do my own thing. Ill look for that thread. |
| 2005-04-02 2:44 PM in reply to: #136825 |
Master 1670 Harvard, Illinois | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? Just a few tips from someone who dislocated their shoulder 13 times. Avoid any exercises that have you "push" weight over your head. For example shoulder press. Look at the strength training exercises for the shoulder at www.smiweb.org/guides I believe they are under the triathlete section. If after doing these exercises have a doctor look at your shoulder. You may have tendinitis or a torn rotator cuff. Mike |
| 2005-04-02 3:50 PM in reply to: #136825 |
Champion 19812 MA | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? Tom...I started reading your post and wondered if I wrote it. I did my first Tri last September and doing a 1/4 Iron in June as well. I did one Tri last year and just couldn't do the freestyle that I practiced all summer...had trouble putting my face in the ocean and felt panicky. I ended up doing breast stroke and side stroke and just gutted through it. In July a Tri friend told me that I was going to hurt my rotator cuff since I was putting my whole forearm in the water instead of peircing with my hand and lifting my elbows. Sure enough some 6 weeks later I hurt my rotator cuff...went to a specialiste and got PT. I also did not roll and use my core..but was flat in the water and did most of arm stroke just with my arms which is not correct. Now to improve this year, I took off time to get PT on my shoulder and try to strenghten it. Now I am working with a Total Immersion instructor and only doing drills to learn to swim correctly. I'm trying to teach my muscles the right way to swim and forget my crappy style of last year. I worry that I have 2 months and 2 days until my 1/4 Ironman which is equal to 44 laps of the pool. I may be doing a lot of sweet spot swimming...but I want to learn the correct way to swim which will help me in the long run. I think you should use whatever stroke you feel comfortable with...but in the long run it will help you to learn freestyle. I would suggest getting a coach or if you don't want to go that route...look into getting the Total Immersion Freestyle DVD. Kathy |
| 2005-04-02 6:23 PM in reply to: #136825 |
Veteran 204 Gif-sur-Yvette | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? I can understand the choice. I also breaststroke a lot and I am currently working hard to change to freestyle. I am focusing totally on stroke technique, either by using fins without kicking whatsoever (the full body rotation will propel you big time) or using a leg buoy to avoid kicking. I also noticed the reason I get tired fast in freestyle is because I kick at an extremely high pace, so for as long as I can keep my feet stopped I can go a few laps without loosing my breath. I will work on kickin when my stroke improves enough. I can easily do billateral breathing, no problem with that, but my hands are still being thrown in the air and splashing way too much. I will probably run 60% to 80% of my upcoming race using breaststroke. But the one after that will have to be way different. By the way, I am taking a class per week, and it really helps me move along. One word of advice, if I'm allowed, get in the water as often as you can. The more the better and the faster you'll be ready for a full race in freestyle, or so tells me my instructor. |
| 2005-04-03 2:16 PM in reply to: #136825 |
| Member 42 Boston, MA | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? Thanks for all of the advice. ill keep working on my freestyle to see if i can modify some things. Ill also work on my breast so i have that as a back up. I have about 8 more pool sessions before my race so ill see how itm goes. Its the Mooseman in NH by the way. again thanks for the input. |
| 2005-04-03 3:23 PM in reply to: #136825 |
Expert 721 | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? I will join you in the "minimal training" category! My first couple of triathlons (I've only done sprints so far) I did the swim all breastroke-like the previous poster I learned later that I was kicking way too hard in freestyle and could only muster a lap or two without tiring. I also found that breastroke was less scary because I could see where I was going, and see the waves coming at me (especially the race with 4 foot wave  ). Even with freestyle I start off to the side a bit, and towards the back, so people weren't really a problem (and there are some wicked freestyle flailers out there, too!). I did notice that once I started swimming with a wetsuit that breastroke was less comfortable, though. And definately look at PT for your shoulder-rotator cuff/shoulder injuries are notoriously difficult to rehab when they get bad. A swim coach could definately help also. |
| 2005-04-05 9:30 AM in reply to: #136825 |
New user 2 Dayton, OH | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? Being a freestyle sprinter, I can't imagine how breaststroke is faster...at least for me! Anyways, the best thing to do with shoulder problems is to work on your breathing. I'm guessing that the shoulder that primarily bothers you is the shoulder opposite to the side you normally breath to. The shoulder pain comes from trying to lift yourself out of the water with this arm. This puts a strain on your shoulder. One other thing to look at is to make sure that you are not pulling across your body...your hand should not cross your body's centerline during the length of the pull. Several things you may want to try are stretch/bungee cords. I did these all through college and never had any shoulder pain. Here's a good link for an example stretch cord workout. http://www.fogdog.com/sm-stretch-cords-for-swimming--bg-412029.html t |
| 2005-04-05 10:08 AM in reply to: #136825 |
Expert 1213 Los Gatos, CA | Subject: RE: Forced to use only the Breaststroke, anyone else?? I think you have to learn freestyle if you take this business seriously. Breaststroke is a fall back for me too but not my main mode of swimming. In terms of pain, if you have pre-existing injury and only partial shoulder rotation, then that is a serious limitation requiring medical attention. If you just have strain, it may be due to improper technique which is easy to come by as other posters have pointed out. Finally, I was taught to generate a lot of the forward propulsion through body/stroke extension and body rotation, NOT just pulling as hard as you can with your arms/shoulders. Too much strain and it's exhausting. Counter-intuitive for novice swimmers, was for me. |
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